Trocar



Feb. 17, 1953 J. M. MYERS 2,628,404

TRocA Fil ed Nov. 50. 1951 INVENTOR Jon'u M. MYEns ATTORNEY-S Patented F eb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- TROCAR John M; Myers, Del 'Norte', 13010.

Application November30, 1951, Serial N 259,183

2 Claims; 1

This invention relates to embalming instru;- ments, and more particularly, has referencevtol a trocar designed especially for the drainageiof excess fluid from the body of one. having an edematou condition.

It will readily be appreciated that in the embalming of a person who in life had an edematous condition, it is necessary to drain off a substantial amount of fluid from the affected tissues. this-purpose-have not been found to operate with full efiiciency, and-tend to clog in many instances, while in other case the instruments are not capable of being manipulated with sufficient ease during the. insertion thereof in the tissues.

It is'the main object of the present invention to provide an improved trocar for the purposes stated, which will be so'formed as to be easily directed'through-the fatty tissues in the edematou areas, and which will, afterbeing properly positioned, function efiiciently in draining off the excess fiuidfrom said areas.

A still further important objectris'to provide a device of the typestated whichwill be; so formed as to eliminate the clogging problem often experienced, through the provision of a plurality of openings formediin thezseveral sides thereof, said openings being so arranged as to Heretofore, the instruments used for permit the drainage of the fluidlto continue, de-

spite the clogging of some of saidopenings during the drainage operation.

Still another importanttobject is to provideran.

instrumentaas described which :will be sol formed asgto. permit the drainage, of fiuid to, occur throughout the length of the instrument, said instrument having a drainage trough formed therein and related in a novel manner to the drainage openings, so as to permit the fluid draining through the openings to be drawn off through the medium of the trough.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a trocar formed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 i an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional View taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Re i to th rewinss n deta L h ns il ment-formed in accordancev with the pres e'ntlinivention comprises-two main parts, these constin. tuting a plunger generally designated J0, andfa cannula generally designatedIZ-Q i Referring first to theplunger l9, this'comprises a solid, elongated body lawman ltaprs-fromiits. base toward its head end, andrwhich is-in they present instanceofsquare or rectangular cross. sectional cenfiguration throughout its T length;

E rm t s al h body 4" t t b e d ree i a cent lly d s os d re uc dneck; l6, which is; integral with, aflgripping ring i8, adapted to receive the finger of aluser, where-e by h g m y be ext ded ni et acted o t e an u a 2- w h;spd nd-e se At the head end of the body l4,- said body is formed with arr-axial, threaded socketz llin wl rich azthreaded stud 22is;eng-age ab1e, saidstud 2 2. being-integral or otherwise rigid with a square. base 24 of a tissue-penetrating point-26, The point 25 ispreferablyof pyramidal formation; having four sides intersecting toform-four con-v e i -l c in ges t at areada t dst fac le a e the insertio of t e nstrumentw th-1 the fatty su in he I e ematous, a as-:-

h point 25' i i refe ably' emovahle r-from e qd ain t man e -i lustra ed nd esc .0 as n rmit the-p int oabe epla d w ever the cuttin edges thereof become dull;

Referring now to the formation-,o f the, cannula l2, this comprises an elongatedqtaperedstube 28 tha is c plemen ry- 0 thePIu-nser M heq ube 8,,asreadi1y en f om:- squerewc ss sect e aliqonfisuratio mit the plunger to fit snugly thereinto.

The tube 28 is formed open at opposite ends, so as to permit the tissue-penetrating point 26 to project from the small end thereof, the reduced neck It and ring I8 projecting from the large or base end of the tube.

In three of the side walls of the tube 28, I form a longitudinal series of rectangular openings 30, that extend from end to end of each side wall, and which are progressively widened from the small to the large end of the tube, as readily seen from Figure 1.

The fourth side of the tube 23 is left imperforate, and has a longitudinal trough 32 formed in its inner service, said trough extending from end to end of the tube and being disposed longitudinally and centrally of the side wall in which it is formed.

That side Wall of the tube 28 in which the trough 32 is formed is integrally formed with a curved extension or tongue 34 at the base end of the tube (see Figure 4) and the trough 32 is extended into communication with an extension trough 36, that is disposed longitudinally and centrally of the curved tongue.

In use, the instrument is inserted, with th plunger l telescoped fully within the cannula 12, in the fatty tissues located in the inferior portions of the edematous areas of the body to be embalmed. Thereafter, the user grips the ring [8, and Withdraws the plunger wholly from its associated cannula. The tube 28 is left within the body.

With the assistance of gravity, and by manipulation of the edematous portions, the excess fluid contained within the affected areas of the body seeps through the graduated rectangular openings 30, into the interior of the tube 28, and will drop to the solid side wall of the tube, so as to drain out of the tube through the medium of the longitudinal drain trough 32. As the fiuid moves through the drainage trough 32, it will pass into the extension trough 36, and will thereafter drop into a suitable container, not shown.

It will be understood that the tongue 34 is provided not only for the purpose of forming a finger grip on the tube as Well as on the plunger, but also to prevent insertion of the tube into the body a distance greater than the length of the tube.

In the present instance I have illustrated rectangular openings 39, but I believe that openings of other configurations can be used with equal facility. Further, while preferably the plunger and tube are of rectangular cross sectional configuration, it is possible that they might be of triangular cross sectional configuration, or some other cross sectional shape.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

' What is claimed is:

1. A trocar having its main application to edematous areas of a body and comprising a cannula formed as a tube of polygonal cross section open at opposite ends, one of the several side walls of the tube being of imperforate formation and having a drainage trough extending through substantially its entire length, each of the remaining side walls of said tube having a longitudinal series of drain openings for seepage of edemic fluid thereinto; and a plunger greater in 'overall length than and proportioned for extension into the cannula, the opposite ends of said plunger projecting beyond the respective ends of the cannula, said plunger having a handle at one end and having a tissue-penetrating point at its other end to facilitate insertion of the trocar into an edematous body area, said plunger being adapted to be wholly withdrawn from the cannula after extension of the trocar into said area, to expose the drain openings for seepage of the edemic fiuid therethrough and for passage of said fluid longitudinally of the trough and out of one of the open ends of the cannula.

2. A trocar having its main application to edematous areas of a body and comprising a cannula formed as an elongated, tapered tube of polygonal cross section open at opposite ends, one of the several side walls of the tube being of imperforate formation and having a drainage trough extending through substantially its entire length, each of the remaining side walls of the tube having a series of drain openings extending the full length of the tube for seepage of edemic fluid thereinto; and a tapered plunger complementary to and greater in overall length than the cannula and proportioned for extension into the cannula, the opposite ends of said plunger projecting beyond the respective ends of the cannula, said plunger having a handle on one end and having a pyramidal, tissue-penetrating point at its other end to facilitate insertion of the trocar into an edematous body area, said plunger being adapted to be wholly withdrawn from the cannula after extension of the trocar into said area, to expose the drain openings for seepage of the edemic fluid therethrough and for passage of said fiuid longitudinally of the trough and out of one of the open ends of the cannula.

JOHN M. MYERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,845,727 Slaughter Feb. 16, 1932 1,902,418 Pilgrim Mar. 21, 1933 

